La Femme flic (1980)
Directed by Yves Boisset

Film Review

In the 1970s and '80s, the socially conscious filmmaker Yves Boisset directed a number of thrillers, mostly in the classic French policier mould, that touched on some of the most important social and political themes of the day. Dupont-Lajoie (1975) deals with racism, Le Juge Fayard dit Le Shériff (1977) with corruption in high places and Le Prix du danger (1983) with the corrupting effect of reality television. In La Femme flic, one of Boisset's most realistic thrillers, the director revisits the neo-polar theme of the police being in the pocket of important public figures whilst also tackling a more pertinent issue, sex discrimination in the workplace. By virtue of its subject matter, it is one of the worthier films that Boisset made in the 1980s, although it is somewhat let down by a lacklustre screenplay that offers few surprises and tends to resort to the worst kind of caricature.

Had her part been more convincingly written, the lead actress Miou-Miou could have made this one of her most compelling roles. Unfortuately her character, a spirited but put-upon woman police inspector (her name should have been Mou-Mou), lacks much of a backbone and comes across as far weaker than she needs to be - a willing doormat for her Alpha male colleagues. No wonder her boss thinks that all she can do is file reports and make the tea.  Compare this with Miou-Miou's far gutsier, and far more humane portrayal of a more seasoned police officer in Jean-Paul Lilienfeld's Arrêtez-moi (2013) and you can see at once how better the film might have been if more thought had gone into the characterisation. Today, La Femme flic appears horribly out-dated but it provides a testimony of how badly women were once treated in their place of work before sex descrimination legislation came in and effectively ended the disgraceful behaviours shown in this film.

Film Synopsis

A young female police inspector, Corinne Levasseur, is re-assigned to a provincial town after having implicated a public figure in a drugs scandal.  Here, Levasseur investigates a case of suspected child abuse and uncovers a paedophile ring.  Unfortunately, again she finds that she is up against some influential people and the police are not on her side...